


Eyes of the Soul

by LadyLarkFrand



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Friendship, Gen, His Dark Materials!AU, daemon!AU - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-06
Updated: 2017-11-20
Packaged: 2019-01-30 04:09:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12645810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyLarkFrand/pseuds/LadyLarkFrand
Summary: Everyone was born with a daemon. This was known. The relationship between daemon and human though, that was more private than just about anything else in the whole of Eos.





	1. Introductions and New Starts

**Author's Note:**

> -shrugs into the void- I like this AU/trope. So here we go, an AU where Prom has a daemon. I don't know how many bits there'll be to this fic, but I do know I _plan_ on doing a moment for each of the four boys at the very least. Maybe Luna or Nyx will find their way even. Maybe even more rare characters too ;D 
> 
> There won't be a steady update schedule, because I am The Worst, and I am useless :D

The sound of the chime cut through the air, almost as loudly as the chatter of students did. Relieved to be out of class and on their way home, to be sure. Prompto was one of them as he yanked at his tie viciously in an attempt to escape the feeling of being strangled. Digna padded next to him, pressed close to avoid the rush of feet as people moved by them in the flood to escape. 

People were pairing up, chatting, heading home. Making plans. It was exactly what Prompto would expect of a high-school, no matter the income bracket of parents. He scanned the crowd, hopefully, eagerly, and Digna guided him with a gentle press of her shoulder against his legs. 

Then he found him and Prompto felt his anxiety bloom in his chest like a particularly horrible flower. Digna whined softly and came to a stop, and Prompto followed the action. He swallowed around the budding terror, and leaned down like he was tying his shoe. 

“ I can’t do this.” He whispered to his daemon and Digna growled quietly at him. 

“ We aren’t backing out now,” she whispered back harshly, nose to nose with him, “ we’re here, he’s here, there’s not gonna be a better time than today and you know it.” She informed him in a manner that Prompto knew he’d told her to tell him. They’d agreed she wouldn’t let him back out of it. 

It was now or probably never. 

He sighed and straightened up, wiped his hands on his pants to try and make them feel less sweaty and squared his shoulders. He could do this. Probably. Maybe. 

A warm body brushed against his knees, and Prompto glanced down. Warm brown eyes stared back up at him confidently, and the coyote dipped her head just slightly. Then as one they looked to the dark-haired teen that was tapping away at his phone, a look of disinterest on his face and a wide berth afforded him. 

Prompto took a deep breath. They could do this. 

The sound of other kids talking faded into the background, into the sound of his heart rushing in something like sheer panic as they walked, and Digna walked so close to him that her shoulder bumped his knee with every step. She was his confidence and his strength.

“ Hey!” he called out, cheerfully like he wasn’t internally panicking over how mad he could fuck this up with a slip of the tongue. 

The Prince looked up from his phone, blinking in surprise as Prompto approached. The elegant black leopard that laid at his feet watched them with her massive, green eyes. Digna didn’t waver, and Prompto didn’t either. It was a good sign, he told himself, that the guy didn’t just go back to his phone and make an escape. 

“…Yeah?” 

“ Uh,” Prompto added and mentally kicked himself, “ Hi. I wanted to introduce myself, since we’re gonna be class-mates from now on.” It was a weak reason and it was perfect all at once. No one else had approached the Prince for much other reason than to seem to try and show off their breeding to try and get something. Noctis had stared at them until they’d left him alone and retreated more into his own head. 

Noctis glanced at his phone, then back up, and Prompto felt the weight of the other man’s gaze fully and wondered what the hell he’d been thinking. The other teen didn’t give anything away and suddenly he was painfully aware of his appearance. 

Tie askew, shirt un-tucked and he felt entirely second-hand. Awkward blond kid chatting up the Prince of Lucis like it was nothing, like he had any _right_ to it and-

“ Oh yeah,” he muttered, “ I remember you from when we were ki-“ 

Oh _Gods_ no. Prompto couldn’t let him finish that statement. Not if he wanted to keep his nerve. 

“ I’m Prompto!” He cut him off too loudly, and thrust his hand out unthinkingly, “Prompto Argentum, nice to meet you.” 

The panther at the Prince’s feet muttered something in a language that Prompto didn’t understand, her long tail twitching slightly and if Prompto thought that a daemon could emote as clearly as a human, he’d say she was amused by them. Digna stood a little taller, dusty-brown fur sleek and looking good and not bushy at all. Except for maybe her tail, it was a little bushy. 

Whatever the panther said though, it made something in Noctis’ face shift, going from guarded to a little more open. A little more _human_ and something unclenched in his chest and gut and Prompto thought he could finally gasp for air out of relief of it all. For once, he didn’t feel the stares of the students around them, raking over him in judgement and condemnation. 

Noctis glanced at his hand, and Prompto mentally kicked himself. That had been stupid, so, so stupid because of course royalty didn’t just go around shaking people’s hands. Then the Prince reached out, clasped his hand firmly and shook it. 

“ I’m Noctis.” 

Noctis. Not ‘Prince Noctis’, not anything formal or stuffy. It was something closer to that kid he’d seen in the ally that day when he’d made an idiot of himself. Not open and charmed but something warmer. The potential of something human and like everyone else. 

Digna pressed a little closer against his leg, a gentle reminder, and Prompto let his smile stretch his cheeks until they hurt. Mission accomplished, and he hadn’t died of mortification. That was a good start, to say the least. He let Noctis’ hand fall out of his grip and they stood there for a long moment before the panther stood with a grace that left Prompto jealous and awed. 

He wondered if it was practiced. It looked like something that’d be practiced. 

Nocits followed his gaze and sighed, not in exasperation, but maybe fondness. A black car came around the corner, rolled up the street towards them with a slowness that Prompto thought warred with intent. Noctis’ phone buzzed, and he groaned quietly under his breath as he tapped out a quick message. 

“ That’s us,” he confirmed for him, shoving his phone into his pocket, “ but there’s always tomorrow, right?” he asked, and his eyes were on Prompto again and it was the most exciting feeing in his chest. It rose up and choked him and he could only nod, rapidly as he fought to make words work for him again. 

“ Totally!” he assured him, “ me’n Digna will be here, can’t really afford to cut out if you know what I mean.” He probably didn’t, probably thought Prompto had meant something to do with money which, wasn’t inaccurate. Scholarships were a blessing and a curse but Prompto was determined to beat his way through it. 

“ Tell me about it,” the Prince agreed though with a tired sigh, “ Chemistry sucks. Clara thinks we could study together during lunch though?” He left it a question, hanging, and Prompto didn’t know him well enough to read the look on his face but maybe it was hope. It was hope that bubbled in his chest and felt a lot like joy. 

Prompto nodded again, hands shoved into his pockets and Digna watching intently, her pricked ears tilted forward just so as the car pulled to a stop next to the curb. The door opened and the leopard, Clara, disappeared into the back-seat. Noctis followed her, raising his hand in a brief wave to him. 

“ See you tomorrow, Prompto.” 

Prompto raised his hand in turn, “ You can count on it, Noctis.” 

The car pulled away as the door shut and Prompto stood there for a long time. It took Digna shoving her cold nose into his hand before he jerked out of his stupor to look down at her. She stared at him proudly, her bushy tail wagging happily and Prompto felt his heart swell in affection for her. 

“ We did it!” she squeaked in a quiet burst of words, “ You did it Prompto!” her front paws tapped in delight, and Prompto gently tugged on one of her pricked ears affectionately. For a moment Prompto thought of scooping her up like he knew he could. Yet, the weight of cold stares and quiet whispers came rushing back. 

“ C’mon,” he urged, “ we deserve a reward, right?” he asked and Digna’s eyes brightened eagerly as she paced beside him. Carefully, never too far behind or in-front, so as to not draw any more eyes to them. It wouldn’t do for some secrets to be uncovered, it’d be downright dangerous. Deadly so, and they had a good life. They’re parents would be pissed, after everything they’d gone through. 

It was enough to be able to do as Lady Luna had asked. They had started at least, and tomorrow would only give them another chance. 

For once, in a long time, Prompto felt a little hopeful about his chances. Things were turning around for them.


	2. Of Little Yellow Birds and Choice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a chapter about Gladio. He's about 11-12 in this part. I could have used his dad instead of Jared but -shrugs- it just fits better in this particular setting. I've head-canoned Gladio's daemon would be a big cat or a bear since I played the game. I thought it'd be cool to give him something small and sweet, too. Therefore, Aurelia and a bit of a heart-breaking choice for someone so young.

“ What do you think Aurelia will settle as?” the question was light and cheerful and Gladio blinked in surprise as a girl from his class stepped up next to him. A big tabby daemon was nestled in her arms and she held him as if he were the most precious thing in the world. 

Gladio shrugged one shoulder, the one that Aurelia wasn’t settling on as a perch. 

“ Kinda nosy aren’t you?” he asked, “It doesn’t really matter, does it?” he asked and Aurelia cheeped a soft agreement in his ear. They’d heard that line more than once in his life. It was something his Dad always said anytime Gladio heard about another member of his class-mate’s daemons had Settled. 

Bia, the girl, snorted and gave him a level look, cool and unimpressed. 

“ Everyone _says_ that Gladio,” she chided and shook her head, as if she couldn’t believe she was having to explain it to him, “ but everyone knows no one _believes_ it.” She rocked back and forth, from the balls of her feet to her heels. 

“ Fine then,” Gladio pointed out, ignoring the way his cheeks burned slightly with a blush, because it was true, “ what do you think Amias’ll be?” he asked her, half-sarcastically and unimpressed with her attitude. 

Bia snickered, and jostled the daemon in her arms, which earned her a low noise of protest. “ A cat, obviously! Amias doesn’t shift much anymore, so he’s probably almost Settled officially.” She looked back at Gladio, with brown eyes that knew too damn much about him, “ So spill: what about Aurelia?” 

Gladio shrugged again. 

“ Probably what she is now, she’s pretty close to settling too. She likes being able to fly and see from up-high. She likes to sing and she’s good at it too.” Aurelia fluffed her feathers, a tiny little peal of notes twittering from her beak as if to drive home the point. 

Bia cocked her head, a wrinkle of confusion appearing between her eyebrows and she looked at him and then the little yellow bird on his shoulder. 

“ A little bird?” 

Gladio smiled. 

“ A canary, Aurelia is-“ 

A soft sigh, and then a little click of the tongue. 

“ I thought you were supposed to be the Prince’s Shield?” 

Gladio’s smile dropped off his face in record speed at the girl. They were in the same class, in the same year, and Gladio had thought she’d been different than the rest. She’d laughed at his jokes and played with him and the guys at recess and it’d been _fun_. It’d made him think that maybe when the spring dance rolled around, he’d pretend he had some courage and ask her. 

Her words though, as she stared at Aurelia on his shoulder, killed that hope as sure as pouring a bucket of water on a candle. 

“ I am,” he insisted, “ I’ll be the King’s Shield like my Dad is to King Regis.” He’d be as dignified and composed as him, and maybe twice as strong and tall. 

The girl blinked, brown eyes confused as the little frown on her face grew and she cuddled the cat daemon in her arms. Its tail was swishing, back and forth, back and forth as it stared at them with impossibly yellow eyes. Unreadable and silent as the grave, and Gladio couldn’t tell if the daemon was looking at him or the tempting sight of his own daemon perched on his shoulder. It was a tabby, sleek and handsome with a little white on his chin. 

“ How are you going to protect Prince Noctis with a little bird?” she asked, “ I heard Niflheim soldiers all have wolf daemons, one snap and she’d be gone.” She squeezed the cat in her arms, expression growing wary and uneasy at the very thought of her own daemon meeting such a horrible fate. The cat murmured something, face angled towards her and she nodded just slightly. 

Gladio stopped in surprise, Aurelia’s feathers fluffing in clear discomfort. 

“ Amias says that a bird can’t do anything to protect anyone,” she sounded so damn sincere in her confused concern, like all she cared about was that Aurelia _could_ get hurt or worse and that it’d take so very little to make her disappear into a poof of Dust and that’d be it. Gladio swallowed and tried to think of how to answer her questions as they just kept coming. 

“ She’s fast,” he pointed out, “she’d out-fly any dumb ol’ wolf-“ he tried to make it sound like he’d thought about it, made all the points about why it didn’t matter what Aurelia settled as. If she wanted to be a bright yellow canary, she could. 

“ But she’s so teeny-tiny she’d get tired really fast, right?” The cat was staring again and Gladio was starting to hate it, “ My Daddy said that a daemon shows the truth of everyone, and that soldiers always have strong daemons. A bird isn’t strong, Gladio, their bones aren’t strong, and Aurelia hasn’t even got talons.” 

She said it so matter-of-fact that Gladio could only blink at her in surprise, before looking at the little bird on his shoulder again, then back at her. The girl, Bia, stared at him sadly like he was something to pity. Not someone, but something, too stupid to know the truth of its nature and she was doing him some great service by telling him of it. Gladio scowled at her and clenched his fists. 

“ What does your dad know anyway?!” he snapped, “ His daemon is probably a frog or a toad or something slimy!” he pushed onward, ignoring the quick and gentle way that Aurelia whispered his name, trying to calm him down, “ Aurelia is strong and fast! She’s smart, smarter than some dumb cat!” 

The cat’s tail stopped swishing and Bia stared at him in surprise before her features scrunched in anger and hurt. 

“ My Daddy’s daemon isn’t a toad! “ she snapped back, and neither of them realized they were almost yelling right there on the front-lawn of the school, “ You take it back, Gladiolus Amicitia!” she cried, and the cat was on the ground, back just starting to arch aggressively, “ You take it back right now!” 

Aurelia flew in frenzied circles around his head, out of reach but close enough he could hear her frantic words that seemed to be nothing but mindless noise in his ears. 

“ Make me!” he roared back at her, and Bia, who he’d credited to being like the boys he played with on the play-ground. Bia, who he’d admired for her short-cropped chestnut hair and brown eyes and scraped knees. 

Bia, who’d only said anything because she worried about such things. His friend who laughed loudly and wasn’t ashamed of anything or anyone, hauled back one bony fist and punched him square on the cheek. Hard enough that stars exploded behind his eyes and he staggered at the blow, not expecting her to actually go through with it. 

It hurt. It hurt almost as much as the so very tired sigh Jared had given him upon seeing him. Gladio was scuffed up, nose bleeding and lip swollen, bruise on his cheek and grass in his hair. Aurelia sat in his cupped hands, and he could feel her heart fluttering in her chest as she stared up at him silently. 

Gladio had only stared at his daemon, ignored Bia as she’d been led from the office glowering and just as tousled as he was by her disgruntled mother and father.

“ Come along, Gladiolus,” Jared urged gently, one familiar hand between Gladio’s shoulder-blades as they walked from the office of the school, and out to the waiting vehicle Jared had used to get there. Gladio climbed in the back, to stare out the window. He tongued at the cut on his lip, helplessly. 

It hurt. It stung, but it’d serve as a reminder. 

“ My Dad pissed?” he asked, as Jared started the car and pulled out of the parking-lot. It sounded quieter, more tired than what he’d anticipated it to and he hated that too. Jared made a quiet noise of disapproval at his language, looking at him in the rear-view mirror for a split-second. Gladio only flicked his eyes back out the window. 

“ Disappointed, as any father would be to hear of his son brawling with a young lady, I suppose.” Jared finally replied. Gladio grunted. It seemed like he was just disappointing people left and right that day. Bia first, then Jared, then his Dad. At least Iris was too young to be disappointed in him. She was still little enough to think he hung the moon in the sky if he told her he did. 

The silence stretched on. 

“ Hey Jared,” he finally started, slowly, “ you’ve known my Dad forever, right?” he asked and tried not to sound too hopeful. The result, he thought, was that he sounded far too casual. The butler didn’t call him on it, merely stared ahead at the red-light they were stopped at temporarily. The car idled in the silence, filling it in a thoughtful sort of way. 

“ ‘Forever’ is a bit of a stretch,” the older man began, “but I have known your father for a good deal of time, yes.” The man’s terrier daemon placed her chin on the middle-console of the car, to look at him and Aurelia with soulful brown eyes. Thoughtful and a little sad, Gladio thought, around her slowly graying muzzle. “ Why?” Jared finally asked, “ If I may ask.” 

Gladio shrugged in the way of boys who did not want to admit that there were deeper reasons to simple questions. 

“ Was Jeana always a lion?” he asked, picturing his father’s tawny-eyed daemon. She was fierce and dependable, loving to Gladio and Iris and quick to defend King Regis in word and deed. Gladio could not picture the daemon as anything but a formidable predator, at his father’s side and always ready to charge into battle again. Gladio bit his lip, chewed on it really, despite the painful sting of it re-opening under his teeth. 

The car purred as they rolled through the intersection, and Gladio felt the anxiety increase as he recognized the closeness to the manor. 

“ No,” Jared answered, “ she was not. She used to wear the form of a little red fox so often that we were all sure that she would stay that way one day.” There was fondness and sadness in the butler’s voice, as if the memory were bitter-sweet. It was the tone of voice Gladio was used to hearing when the subject of Settling came up, “Then, one day, your father came home, and she was as you know here now.” 

A lion. A warrior. Big enough to protect King and country alike. What Lucis needed, regardless of everything else. Powerful and dangerous, intimidating. Everything a fox couldn’t be, not openly. Gladio swallowed and tongued the cut on his lip again. 

“How come she changed her mind?” Gladio asked, quietly.

There was a long silence, heavy in the car and Gladio thought that the older man either had failed to hear him, or perhaps simply didn’t wish to answer. It was a personal question, and though Gladio knew his father thought of the butler like an old friend, it didn’t immediately mean that Jared was privy to every little aspect of what had been his Dad’s life. The car drove on in silence, and it wasn’t until they pulled into the long drive to the manor that Jared spoke again. 

“ Such questions are difficult to answer, Gladiolus,” he sighed, and put the fine, black car into park, “ because what motivates a man to do anything is nearly impossible to discern in all truthfulness and accuracy. “ 

Gladio sighed, and moved to open the car door, Aurelia neatly returning to her favored perch on his left shoulder. 

“ However,” Jared interrupted him and Gladio stilled, curiosity getting the better of him, “ such a change in a daemon and man is something everyone around him takes note of. I _did_ ask him much the same question once. “ He twisted around to look at Gladio, and Gladio was helpless to feel like anything more than a twelve year old boy looking into the face of a beloved uncle. 

“ He told me that if a man is to serve his Country and King, his heart, mind and soul must all be dedicated to such a task. There is little room for personal ambition or plights, and so Jeana had taken the form that would most help serve their purpose.” Jared sighed, and one gloved hand stroked over his pretty little Spera’s head. 

The daemon leaned into the touch affectionately before he continued, “ I do not think, young master, your father would want you to face the same troublesome thoughts as he himself did. Yet,” and there Jared sighed with a quiet shake of his head, “ I do not believe there is a force on this planet that will stop it from coming to pass.”

Gladio swallowed against whatever had welled up in his throat. Anxiety. Awareness. Excitement. A touch of sadness so deep it felt like a well or a pit had opened up and part of him was falling through it even though he’d not moved an inch since Jared had started talking. 

“ So you’re sayin’ that my Dad and Jeana-“ 

“ Gave up a great deal, a future, in the name of their King and Country. What your father would have been, we will never know, and it does no heart good to dwell upon it.” Jared gently interrupted, “ Now, I think it’s time you clean up before your father returns home. I believe the school will have informed him of your most recent adventure.” 

Gladio flushed slightly and climbed out of the car, to do just that. 

Later, after his father had chided him, expressed such a profound disappointment that Gladio had been unable to meet his gaze or the unwavering gaze of Jeana, he sat on his bed. He thought of what he had learned that day, and he thought of what Bia had said. None of it in malice, he knew, but the horrible ideas that she had said they- they made his heart clench in a terror and anger so strong that it made him want to strike out at anyone who might so much as think of them.

“Gladio.” The little daemon chirped, hopping closer over the bed-spread. Her bright yellow feathers were so pretty, and her voice simply beautiful. She liked to sing. She sounded like their mother had, before she’d left, when she sang. Aurelia hadn’t so much as whispered a note in days though, and Gladio wondered if it was something he’d done. 

“ Gladio,” she whispered again, “ maybe..what if Bia was right?” Gladio sucked in a deep breath and stroked one finger over the top of her head, her little eyes closing in quiet delight at the attention. 

“ No she isn’t,” he chided, “ you’re perfect an’ I ain’t gonna let nothin’ happen to you. Ever. “ the little bird nipped gently at his fingers, feathers fluffing. The love and affection and an odd deep sadness rolled across their bond. 

“ Your my other half, Gladio.” She pointed out, “ and that means I won’t let anything happen to you either.” Then she did something Gladio hadn’t seen her done in more than two weeks, and it seemed slow and laborious, fear spiked through him that she’d get stuck or something worse and it made him feel sick. 

When it was over, a tawny lioness lay on his bed. She stared at him, with golden eyes, just a hint of green around the pupils of them, “ You are mine to love and mine to protect,” she murmured, voice rich with meaning and promise, “ and if it means I will stay as this until our last days, then I shall. I will protect you and Noctis, and Lucis.” 

Gladio stared at her, mouth dropped open just slightly. 

“ No!” he argued, something between regretful acceptance and loud defiance beat in his chest with his heart, “ You aren’t this, _we_ aren’t this an’ you know it!” 

Aurelia only stared at him, before gently she pressed her forehead to his, and Gladio brought his hands up tentatively to press into warm fur along her cheeks. His vision blurred just slightly, anger and denial fluttering in his chest, and worse, acceptance pouring into his bones. 

“ We,” Aurelia challenged, “are whatever we _must_ be. We are Noctis and Clara’s Shields. I am Yours. Dad told Jared,” she continued almost sadly, “ that a man makes sacrifice for King and Country alike. This one is not so big to make, and there are worse things than a little change.” 

Gladio felt the back of his eyes burn and he blinked hard, harder to fight away the tears that didn’t belong there. There was no reason to cry, like some dumb baby who’d scraped his knee or been told he couldn’t have something. He swallowed once, then twice, and took a deep, shuddering breath as he sat there. 

“ I’m sorry.” He managed, not sure what he was apologizing for but more sure than anything that he owed it to the daemon. To his heart and soul. There was a quiet huff, and the big fuzzy ears flicked in amusement at his words. 

“ Forever forgiven,” she hummed, “ besides, this won’t be so bad. In the scale of things, there are worse choices to make. You know your heart as well as I do, you know I can’t lie to you.” 

Gladio knew that was true. She couldn’t lie to him. She wouldn’t, even if she could. Aurelia did not lie if she could help it. She was also right, there were worse choices someone would have to make. It wasn’t like he was having to decide if he cut of his arm or leg. A shape was only a shape, after-all. 

That was what his Dad had said, any time he’d asked him about the shape daemons settled into. About Jeana’s magnificent if battle-scarred figure. About what he could remember of his mother’s beautiful coursing-hound of a daemon. About any daemon he saw, he’d gone through that phase a few years ago. 

“ A shape is just a shape.” He reiterated to the lioness who sat across from him, and the daemon hummed in approval. 

“ Any shape I hold, matters not. In your heart, I will always have wings, and there is no other place I would rather be.” His canary, his little golden bird turned into a fierce lioness. It wasn’t typical that a daemon take the same shape as a parent’s but, in lines of service it wasn’t entirely unheard of. 

When duty sat heavy on shoulders, choices were made and decisions that would last a life-time burned brightly. Obvious and met with grimly set jaws, they’d do it together and join the rest of the House of Amicitia in a long tradition that had earned them award and riches with room to spare. 

Realizing that choice made all the difference, and willingly giving it up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well there it is. As always, I hope you enjoyed it! 
> 
> Comments and kudos give this tired author life!

**Author's Note:**

> -cries- I have other fics to work on but w/e I guess. I blame the time change. 
> 
> Digna - A coyote, her name means 'Worthy'. Belongs to Prompto.  
> Clara - a black leopard, her name means 'Bright'. Belongs to Noctis.  
> Aurelia - A lioness, her name means 'Golden'. Belongs to Gladio.  
> Spera - A terrier, belonging to Jared Hester. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and as always kudos and comments are life-giving!
> 
> Come yell at me here: https://lark-shaped-friend.tumblr.com/


End file.
